Sky Views: It's time to shorten school summer holidays

Ian King, Business Presenter

Here we go again. At the end of next week, schools in England and Wales break up for the long summer holiday, children in Scotland and Northern Ireland already having finished their summer term.

Parents around the country begin scratching their heads about how to juggle work and childcare responsibilities, sighing as they hand over vast sums to activity organisers, childminders or rail companies as they parcel the little darlings off to their grandparents.

It is very odd that, given how governments of all parties have sought in recent years to reduce the cost of childcare and make it easier for parents to work, the UK still does the exact opposite every summer by persisting in having ludicrously long school holidays.

Once, having long school holidays in the summer made sense. The system dates back to the 19th century, when most women stayed at home and children were required to help on farms and agricultural smallholdings.

Even the spring and autumn half terms - the former for planting, the latter for helping pick crops like potatoes - remain based around agriculture.

That justification is long gone and it is high time the system was reformed.

Child poverty campaigners have argued for years that many of Britain's most disadvantaged children do not get access to nutritious meals and the opportunity to participate in physical exercise during the holidaysIan King

Michael Gove, when he was Secretary of State for Education, favoured change. Never one to avoid a confrontation with what he called 'the Blob' - the educational establishment and the teaching unions - he called for longer school days and shorter school holidays, the kind of arrangement common in East Asia, where educational standards in China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan vastly exceed those of most western economies including Britain.

Needless to say, the teaching unions objected. Their opposition is curious given that most teachers care passionately about transforming the lives of the children they teach.

Children from Britain's poorest families suffer more from the timing of school holidays than anyone.

Paying for childcare during school holidays obviously costs poorer families disproportionately more, but there are also other costs that come with long holidays, notably the provision of meals.

Child poverty campaigners have argued for years that many of Britain's most disadvantaged children do not get access to nutritious meals and the opportunity to participate in physical exercise during the holidays. A shorter summer break would prevent that.

The long summer holiday has also been shown to hamper the educational progress of children from poorer backgrounds whose families cannot afford to provide them with some of the stimulating activities to which they have access during term time.

And, unfortunately, not every child has a home environment that stimulates learning. Shorter summer holidays would get around that problem as well as providing children with a routine and with a safe and secure environment.

Meanwhile, having more of the school year during the summer months would enable more PE to be taught outdoors, something most children would enjoy.

Over the long term, there would be an economic benefit to the country, in the form of a fitter and better educated workforce.

Image:Michael Gove was in favour of shorter term times

Then there is the cost of going on holiday. Tour operators, hotel companies and airlines are frequently accused of profiteering by pushing up prices during the peak summer months.

However, as any economist will confirm, this is simply demand and supply in action. When demand rises sharply, due to the whole of England and Wales taking their school summer holiday during the same six or seven weeks, the price is bound to go up in the absence of extra supply.

A solution to this would be to replace the long summer holiday with shorter holidays at other times of the year or, as in countries like Spain and Germany, ensuring that different regions have different dates for school terms and holidays.

This would also have the benefit of reducing the number of instances in which parents, at the risk of heavy fines, take their children out of school during term time.

At present, due to the rules, this is very difficult to do. In some parts of Wales, there has been a particular problem with unauthorised absences from school.

Cardiff Council accordingly held a consultation last year among head teachers and school governors with a view to shaving a week from the long summer holiday and adding it to another break elsewhere in the year.

The idea won overwhelming support but the council was then legally obliged to refer the matter to the Welsh Government, and since then, nothing has happened.

Something ministers should consider is giving schools or local authorities greater autonomy to set term times. This could be problematic for families where siblings attend different schools but has the potential to benefit many more.

Some teachers may argue a shorter summer holiday will deprive them of valuable recuperation time. Yet surely one of the heaviest working burdens they carry is having to bring children back up to speed after a long summer lay-off.

Teachers might even find they, too, benefit from having the same amount of time off but spread more evenly throughout the year.

It's time to shorten the summer holiday. Britain's poorest kids, in particular, would be the greatest beneficiaries.

Sky Views is a series of comment pieces by Sky News editors and correspondents, published every morning.